


The High Side

by JennaMoon



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Basically just high school, Belle is a wonderful person, Bisexual Gaston (Disney), Books, Cliques, Comfort, F/M, Jocks, LeFou has a real name, M/M, Manipulation, Multi, Obsession, Sadness, School Projects, Slow Burn, Stanfou is endgame, To Kill a Mockingbird references, cliches, it's Leo Fousse, nerds, so cliche, with contemporary literature references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-16 06:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10565667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennaMoon/pseuds/JennaMoon
Summary: LeFou is comfortably uncomfortable being mostly ignored at school. That's all ruined when the new guy, the ridiculously handsome and perfect Gaston, drives him home one day.And what's up with Stanley all the sudden?





	1. The Bus

LeFou hated getting the bus to school.

The bus itself was uncomfortable. Rotten upholstery weeping out of the ripped woven seats, leaving deep grooves that swooped down into the rusting metal frame of the bus seats. In the summer, the scratched metallic frame would burn you. In the winter, it would cause frostbite. Not matter how many layers you covered your body with, it would find a way to use the weather as its assailant.  


The once vibrant yellow paint that resided on the exterior of the bus had been peeled away over the years, either by students or, just simply, hard times. Inside was just as dilapidated. Browned with rust, unpainted surfaces met with scratches and crude drawings of positions only otherwise seen in the Karma Sutra. 

However, the bus wasn’t the only negative aspect of his journey to and from school. 

What really made the journey awful was the fellow students.

“She’s so tight!”

“He’s hung like a horse...”

“He acts like a fucking fag.”

LeFou buried his face further into his coat, hoping to avert some attention. If only he could drive...

Belle had assured him that Adam could drive him to school. But LeFou declined. They lived on the opposite sides of the town, and to pick LeFou up from his cottage would add an additional 20 minutes to Adam's journey to school. He didn’t want to be a hindrance to his friends.

Screeching, the bus came to a halt. LeFou was forced forwards with such force, he hit his head on the barely padded hand rail of the seat in front of him, causing him to let out a pained groan. 

He put a hand on his suddenly pounding head, looking out of the window. 

It was... a red car. A shining red sports car that had decided to overtake the slow school, only to then slow down itself.

“Dude! That’s a Stingray!” One guy at the back yelled, seemingly excited by the car. A few people shared his enthusiasm, murmuring in agreement. 

The bus began moving once more, slower than usual due to the snail pace of the sports car. 

“What’s that asshole doing?” One girl asked, twirling her hair. “So slow!”

“Claudette, calm down, that’s a gorgeous car... who the Hell has a car like that?” Dick told her, wrapping an arm around her waist. 

“Not you, obviously.” She dug her elbow into his side, causing the footballer to wince. “If it’s such a good car, why’s it going slower than drying paint?”

LeFou squinted, trying to see who was driving. Through the tinted window, he could see a tall figure, broad and thick. That’s all he could make out, unable to put a name to the figure.

The car suddenly revved, causing the ground to shake. LeFou moved away from the now shuddering windows, and sighed as the car took off at a lightening pace. The other students on the bus gasped, watching the sports car blaze down the suburban streets. 

The bus began to resume it’s usual not-quite-snail pace, students talking excitedly about the owner with the red... Stingray? It didn’t look like a fish...

LeFou sighed. He never understood the act of giving something a name other than what it was. He played with the fraying end of his bus seat, pulling the thread as he waited for the bus to pull up outside school. 

When the struggling bus did finally arrive at school, Belle was waiting for him. Her dress, a pretty blue empire style with a white shirt underneath, was being used as a book holder as she sat cross-legged on the stone wall of the school entrance. LeFou didn’t bother to wave at Belle, knowing that she would be far too engrossed into her book to even notice the arrival of the school bus.  


He waited for everybody else to get off the aging transport, using his shorter height to keep out of the direct eye line of the school ‘cool guys’. He walked up to Belle, sitting next to her. She didn’t give any indication of acknowledgement.

LeFou raised an eyebrow, staring at her. “Uh, Belle? Good morning.” He said, tapping her on the shoulder. 

Belle looked up, smiling. “Oh, good morning, Leo!” She greeted him cheerfully. With a quick flip of a page, she settled her rose bookmark into place and close the book. 

“Where’d Adam go?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“He’s busy...”

“In the gym.” LeFou laughed as he read over the title of her book. “To Kill a Mockingbird, huh? The movie made me cry.”

Belle hummed. “I feel like you say that every time you watch a movie. You know, Leo, if you wanted to hear the stories, I could get Adam’s audible password off him. He prefers to read, like me... and it’s not as if he’d notice a couple of books here and...”

“No, no... Belle, I’m fine with just finding movie versions of stuff” LeFou interjected, “thanks, though.”

Belle nodded. “Well, okay. Let’s go to homeroom.” She stood up, spinning around as she vrushed herself of. She then stopped, staring at the school parking lot. “I think there’s a fight.” She said, pointing over to a large crowd of people. 

LeFou Stood up on the wall to get a better look. He and Belle weren’t far apart in height however; his extra couple of inches were no help in seeing what all the bustle was about. The two shared a look before Belle grabbed LeFou’s wrist and ran towards the crowd. Normally, LeFou would avoid situations with such a high... density of people. However, if Belle didn’t go, then nobody would there to prevent situation from escalating. 

Belle tapped Tom, one of Adam’s friends on the shoulder. “What’s happening?”

Tom was a rather scruffy individual, with an impressive chin strap and wild bedhead. It wasn’t like it mattered too much, however; everyone liked Tom. He was kind enough.

He smiled at Belle. “Dick told me that there was a Corvette Stingray in town today... Turns out, it belongs to a student... Gus? Gavin? He’s new, anyway.” Tom explained in a slow, thoughtful voice. If you had only just met Tom, you might think that he was rather patronising. But, anybody who actually listened to him would know that his voice represented the rest of him. Slow and thoughtful.

LeFou let out an ‘ah’, gaining Tom’s interest. 

“Do you know him?” The friendly man asked. LeFou shook his head. 

“No... though he definitely left a lasting impression.” The smaller teen replied, pointing to the red mark on his forehead.

Belle looked at him. “I thought you just fell asleep with your head pressed against the window again.” She admitted.

LeFou shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt too much.” He told her, smiling confidently. 

“Okay... let’s get to homeroom. I’m sure the new guy is overwhelmed as it is.” She bid goodbye to Tom and she, with LeFou, walked up the stairs, into the school building itself.

 

“He’s really tall! And... Laurette, he looked at me!!!” Claudette exclaimed loudly, her long fingers pressing into her friend’s delicate wrist. Paulette gasped loudly, fanning herself with her notebook. The same notebook, LeFou noticed, she had been using since she was nine. He wondered if she was at the half-way mark yet?

“He sounds dreamy!” Laurette added. 

Claudette swooned. “I wish Dick looked like him!”

“Why not just break up with Dick?” Paulette asked, battering her eyelashes. 

“Because, Paulette, Dick’s my soulmate. Duh!” Claudette stuck her tongue out at Paulette, who in turn looked at Laurette. 

“What about you? Gotten anywhere with Stanley yet?” Paulette asked Laurette. She made a crashing noise in response. “That bad, huh?” Laurette nodded, looking a little forlorn. She really did like Stanley... he just seemed so distant!

Paulette looked excited. “I might try! He’s fun to go shopping with!” The three girls, known through the school as the ‘Bimbettes’, all looked at each other, seeming to talk with their eyes.  


“Do you-“ Claudette began.

“Think Stanley-“ Laurette carried on.

“Is-“ Paulette furthered.

“Metrosexual?!” The three exclaimed, wheezing at the thought of dating a stylish jock.

LeFou buried his head into the chipped wood of his desk. He knew that he wasn’t particularly bright, and therefore shouldn’t judge but... dear God, those girls were stupid. 

Stanley was so unstylish it literally killed him.

At that moment, ‘Professor’ Cogsworth walked in, chuntering about everything and nothing to himself. The rowdiness of the class calmed with his entrance, the man sitting down heavily.

“Settle down, settle do- oh. Very good.” He opened up his planner. It was a large, leather bound book that had certainly seen better days.

“Wednesday? Ah, yes. It is Wednesday...” He looked at his lesson plan carefully. “Okay. Oh... Belle, which chapter did we get to? It appears that I forgot to note it down...” He held up his copy of The Great Gatsby, as if the chapter would come to him.

Belle laughed kindly. “Chapter five, Mr- Professor Cogsworth. Though, yesterday you told us that you had some news?” She reminded him.

Cogsworth huffed. “News? News? What ne- oh! Yes!” He cleared his throat. “I am proud to tell you all that this year, you all have the opportunity to take part in the National ‘Tale as Old as Time’ competition.”

Belle let out a choked gasp, causing the rest of the class to look at her in confusion. LeFou laughed.

“This is an opportunity for you all to get in touch with your inner writer. Write a sonnet about... something you like. For instance... um, Belle, write about... writing! Yes, writing. LeFou, write about cooking.”

LeFou blushed when his name was said in front of the class, eyes avoiding everyone.

“Anyway, I want all of you to submit something. Anything. Except for any of that filth you keep sending me emails to. Disgus-“

Cogsworth was interrupted by a curt knock on the door. He told the offending knocker to come in. The door opened and in stepped... Lumiere. He winked at Belle as he cleared his throat. “Ladies. Gentlemen... Cogsworth-“

“Professor Cogsworth.”

“Mais, not really. Almost professor. Always a Cogsworth.” He grinned at the class, who sniggered. You could always count on Lumiere for a good laugh. “Alors, where was I? Ah yes, may I present... your new classmate...” He stepped aside.

The figure LeFou had seen earlier emerged. Tall. Broad and thick. LeFou found the figure much more attractive up close.

The dark boots left a resounding clap of confidence at every step. Dark jeans (were they Levi’s?) left little to the imagination. He wore a red V-neck, black chest creeping up to defend the already blooming masculinity. On top of the V-neck rested a black jacket, the sleeve pulled up to reveal strong arms. 

LeFou had to stop himself from drooling. 

The face. Oh, the face! The confident smirk sat residentially on his lips, the stubble sprinkled around his chin giving just the right amount of ‘bad boy’ vibes. His eyes were deep and dark and strong, looking over the class like a predator spotting prey. LeFou stared at him in awe.

He had just fallen in love.

Cogsworth hummed. “Welcome to English Studies, Mr...”

“Gaston Firmin.” The true paragon of manhood announced himself, LeFou feeling the power of every word. 

“Firmin? Like-“

“Like Antonin Firmin. Yes.” He grinned. 

There was a collective gasp from the room, meeting in some sport of twisted harmony with the Bimbettes’ enchanted squeals.

Cogsworth nodded. “Interesting... Then, please, take a seat... Where’s the spare desk?”

LeFou went pale. 

He looked to his left, to the only empty desk in the class. Nervously, he put his hand up. “Here, Mr. Cogsworth.”

Cogsworth huffed. “Professor Cogsworth!” He exclaimed, before calming down. “Sit next to LeFou, he’ll get you up to speed.”

Gaston shrugged, his intimidating body passing through the desk towards the back, were LeFou sat. He sunk down into his chair, watching Gaston walk over. 

Gaston grinned. “Hi.” He said to LeFou. “LeFou?”

LeFou nodded. “Yes, LeFou.” He said. Nobody ever called him by Leo, besides Belle. He might as well tell the ridiculously attractive, hot, handsome, sexy new guy that he name was... Fool.

“Oh shit.”

Gaston looked slightly confused. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing! Um... You... You’re amazing.”

What? LeFou felt like punching himself. What the hell was he saying?! Great way to freak out the new guy, LeFou, you’re such a di-

“Thank you, I noticed.” Gaston replied, leaning back on his chair. 

“Come again?” LeFou said, confused.

“I am quite amazing.” Gaston said, as if self-bolstering was nothing more than simply saying ‘good morning’. 

LeFou felt himself fall slightly more in love with the literal personification of confidence to his left.

The two faced the front, LeFou in a sudden daze from the sudden ray of light shown to him by the arrival of Gaston. The new man himself, however, was busy looking around at the women in the class.

He first eyed Claudette, who was waving back at him crazily. Too cooky.

Laurette was taking pictures of him on his phone. Too Spooky.

Paulette was making kissy faces. Too hooky.

Belle was reading intently, making little notes in the margins of her book. Gaston grinned; perfect.

“LeFou, what is her name?” He asked, leaning towards the smaller man.

LeFou looked over to where Gaston was directing his question. “You mean Belle? She my best friend.” 

Gaston’s eyes lit up. Perfect! “You don’t say?” He grinned at LeFou. “What do you have next lesson?” 

“Next lesson? Uh... Performance Studies.”

“So do I! I’d prefer to have you walking me around, rather than that... that Illuminate?” Gaston gave him a winning smile. 

LeFou blushed, staring at Gaston. “I’ll show you around school.” 

The two smiled at each other, and LeFou felt his chest tighten. 

The rest of the day went rather well, in LeFou’s opinion. Sure, there was around an extra sixty people around him at any moment, which normally would have thrown him off. For some reason, however, Gaston made it easier to be around people. His confidence, his ability to handle a crowd... it was amazing. And it rubbed onto him slightly. He laughed along with jokes, didn’t mind Tom putting a hand on his shoulder.

Towards the end of the day, the two had to go their separate ways. Tom, Dick and Stanley showed Gaston to the Gym, and LeFou met with Belle in the library for their study period.

“... And you know what he said? He said to me that in his old school, he stopped an armed robbery with his bae hands... and an empty slurpee cup!!” LeFou recounted his day with Gaston to Belle, who occasionally chimed in with a generous ‘ooh’. Eventually, howvever, Belle clapped her book shut, looking at LeFou.

“Do you have a crush on him?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. “I mean, you hardly know him, Leo.”

LeFou laughed. “So? There was something about him that just... connected with me...” He looked out of the window. “Can’t I indulge just... y’know, a little? It’s not like he’s gay or anything. God, the only other gay guy in this school is Lumiere, and he has a girlfriend!”

Belle sighed. “That’s not tru- Oh, hey, Stanley!”

At that moment, Stanley walked past the library, applying his water-proof mascara. He waved jovially, before carrying on his way.

“See, Gaston’s a manly man, like Stanley! I’m never gonna be his type.” LeFou put his head in his arms, sighing loudly.

Gingerly, Belle put a hand on LeFou’s shoulder. “H-hey, it’s okay... I’m sure you’ll meet a nice guy one day... Besides, from the sounds of it, that Gaston fellow could only possibly love himself.” 

LeFou looked up. “You know what? You’re right. Absolutely right.”

Belle smiled. “So, this Tale as Old as Time thing... any idea what you’re going to write about?” She asked.

LeFou snorted. “Cooking, apparently.”

“Come on now, Leo. Professor Cogsworth was just going off what he knows about.” She said, picking her book back up. “I have a few ideas.” She said. “About oppression or what you have it.” Belle laughed to herself, like she had made a funny joke. LeFou stared at her blankly. 

“What?”

“Oh! Oppression is when you feel like somebody else’s beliefs of ethics are prev-“

“No, Belle. I know what oppression means... What’s so funny?”

Belle shrugged. “No, no. It’s nothing, honest.”

“If you say so... “

The two drifted off into silence, LeFou replaying his favourite moments of the day, all of them involving Gaston and Belle reading, trying to get her friend’s sudden obsession with Gaston into place without feeling to weird about it all.

It wasn’t until LeFou was about to board the bus that he allowed the words ‘Gaston’ to leave his lips.

The tall teen had ran over to him, picked him up by the shoulder and carried him away from the bus. LeFou stared up at him, licking his lips nervously.

“Huh, what is it, Gaston?” He asked.

“Nothing, nothing. I just wanted to thank you for showing me around... Say, LeFou? Would you like a ride home?” He asked.

LeFou shook his head. “No, no... I live on the outer parts of town.” He said, taking a few steps back. 

“Nonsense! Where do you live?”

“Out by Goole Post.” 

“That’s near Necombe Lane, right? I live, like, a minute from there. Come on, let’s go before the traffic gets bad.” He dragged LeFou to his car, unlocking it and getting in coolly. A small crowd had gathered already.

LeFou stood near the passanger door awkwardly, unsure if what to do. He would run to the bus but... the sudden smoke that danced around the school entrance suggested that it was too late.

He was almost tempted to find Adam when Gaston opened the passanger seat door from the inside. 

“Come in, come in!” He told LeFou.

His body automatically followed Gaston’s words, getting into the leather interior. It felt... nice. LeFou shut the door, getting comfortable.

“So, how was your first day?” LeFou asked, trying to make some small talk.

Gaston huffed. “It was great... up until the point I met some... some beastly guy named Adam.” 

LeFou almost choked on air. “O-oh... Really?” He asked.

Gaston nodded. “He felt like my taste in cars was showy... what a bore!”

“Heh... yeah... a-a bore.” He said, stroking the fine stitch work in the leather. “Your car is the best I’ve ever seen, Gaston!”

Gaston broke out into a huge smile, and nodded. “She’s a real beauty.”

“For sure... I mean, look at all those gadgets!” 

Gaston laughed. “Have a play with them, my friend.”

LeFou put his hand on a dial when the weight of Gaston’s words hit him. “Friend?”

“Well, I would hope so. You’ve been remarkably helpful to me. And I happen to treasure helpful things.” Gaston replied coolly.

LeFou felt like collapsing. “Well. Um... You’re my friend, too.”

He wasn’t. LeFou could imagine Belle in that moment, telling him that he couldn’t be friends with somebody he had met just that day. And it was true. He couldn’t be...

... But, that warm smile, inviting... He should be Gaston’s friend.

No one could make him feel good like Gaston.

The car turned to Goole Post, and LeFou pointed to the old cottage at the end of the road. 

The car pulled up out front, and the smaller teen smiled. “Thanks.” He said.

“No problem... I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked, once again rewarding LeFou with his smile. 

“Um... Yes, of course! In English!” He got out of the car. “Thank you! Again!” 

Gaston waved goodbye as he revved the engine, and sped back off down the lane, and LeFou couldn't help but laugh, a little hysterically. 

Gaston was truly perfect.


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LeFou spends an evening thinking about Gaston.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit of a boring one. I NEEEEEED to establish stuff. Thank you so much for your kudos and bookmarks and comments! Your support is appreciated!!!!!!!! 
> 
> ^.^

The cottage that LeFou and his grandmother lived in was comfy. Sure, it wasn’t very well insulated; there was damp in the left wall that had to be (expensively) painted over with special paint twice a year. And yes, the decorating was slightly outdated. 

Grandma Fousse had told LeFou that the cottage had belonged to the groundskeeper of one of the larger homes in the area. The groundskeeper, of course, was his grandfather. LeFou was born a decade after his grandfather’s death, and had only seen him through photos. He was gaunt-looking man, though he seemed cheerful, with a toothy smile. LeFou supposed, to an extent, that he and his Grandfather looked similar in that respect. Smiley. Happy. 

He was certainly happy when he walked into the cottage, whistling a little tune. Grandma Fousse looked over at him from where she sat in her rocking chair, squinting up at him through her thick oval glasses. 

“You’re early.” She remarked, using her wrinkling wrist to shakily point at the clock. It was quarter past three. He was, indeed, exactly twenty minutes early. 

“Um, yeah... I got a lift.” LeFou sat on the sofa, stretching out leisurely.

“A lift? From Adam?” She questioned, sitting up. LeFou shuddered. His grandmother was overly fond of his friend. “Why didn’t you invite him in!?” 

“Grandma, it wasn’t Adam. Besides, I don’t think Adam would want to come in after last ti-“

“He’s a nice boy. If you’re going to be gay, make sure you have a nice boy like Adam.” She laughed, relaxing back into her rocking chair. 

LeFou blushed slightly. “Well actually, the guy who gave me a lift- Gaston. He’s nice.” LeFou watched as his Grandma stopped laughing, tilting her head thoughtfully.

“Show me a picture.” She ordered. 

LeFou took out his phone, thankful that the internet felt like working today. He was quick to click on the FaceBook App and type ‘Gaston Firmin’ into the search bar. 

He almost choked on the profile picture that greeted him.

It was Gaston, alright. Bare chested and grinning, almost taunting the 300 plus likes on the photo. He was lifting a rather large looking weight, biceps bulging in pride. 

LeFou wondered what those strong muscles would feel like against his-

“You’re drooling, child!”

“O-oh...” LeFou wiped his mouth, and showed his Grandma the picture.

“Hmm... seems a little proud. Handsome though.”

LeFou sent Gaston a friend request, quickly putting his phone away. He agreed to an extent; Gaston did look proud. And by God, it was attractive. He could hardly picture himself, with his chubby frame and short legs, could ever hope to be like that.

And yet Gaston had spoken to him. Given him a lift home. Smiled at him. Yes, of course men had smiled at him before. Adam was a good friend and definitely attractive. But any sexual attraction LeFou could have felt towards Adam had feigned away in the realisation that Villeneuve had a startlingly low amount of gay men. Adam was just a good friend. A good friend who was dating his best friend. 

But Gaston was... probably straight, too. LeFou slumped slightly. Definitely straight. He had been enjoying the attention that Claudette, Laurette and Paulette had been giving him, letting out little hums of interest as they gushed over his muscles. 

LeFou shook his head. 

He stood up, smiling. “I’ll put dinner on.” He walked in the kitchen, turning on the aging oven and looking over the ingredients. He could make a pie! Meat and potato pie! And, it would look so cute on his Instagram!

As he eagerly gathered ingredients, he felt a buzz come from his left pocket. He took it out, seeing three notifications.

Belle had sent him a message that read: _You got a lift with him? People are talking. ___

__Gaston had accepted his friend request._ _

__Gaston had also sent him a message that read: _Jst but 2 add u wen I got da ntfction. Do u no were da clsest gym is?___

____LeFou decided that the flutter in his chest was probably not a early sign of a heart attack. He messaged Belle first, being a man of order._ _ _ _

_____He did why are peple talking?????? ____ _ _ _

______He knew that people had suspicions of him being gay. He had told Belle and Adam in what he thought was privacy, not realising that Dick was waiting for his football buddy. Unlike what his name would suggest, Dick wasn’t a complete cock, and had only told the Bimbettes, Tom and Stanley._ _ _ _ _ _

______In the grand scheme of things, having around five percent of the school know for sure that he was gay was an okay proportion for LeFou._ _ _ _ _ _

______It didn’t when Paulette, being the sweet, simple dear that she was, came to LeFou for advice on how to decorate her bedroom. LeFou, who managed to fail at painting a cat. LeFou, who wore little more than jeans with an off-colour shirt on a day-to-day basis._ _ _ _ _ _

______When Belle questioned the girl regarding her choice in interior decorator, she simply replied with ‘I thought men like him were good at that.’_ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou sighed at the memory, before reading Gaston’s message. He didn’t know where the nearest gym was; that was more up Adam’s alley. He pondered for a few moments, unsure of how to reply. He didn’t want to seem useless to Gaston. But... he genuinely didn’t know. what to do, what to do?_ _ _ _ _ _

______He could look it up! Yes! That was easy enough!_ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou quickly typed in ‘gym near me’ into Google, copying and pasting the address into the chat for Gaston to see. He did, and sent a ‘thnx :)’ to the fellow teen. LeFou smiled, feeling useful. It wasn’t LeFou felt that way. But by God, it felt amazing._ _ _ _ _ _

______He put his phone down with a happy hum, continuing to bake._ _ _ _ _ _

______It wasn’t until the pie was in the oven that his phone beeped. It was Belle, ringing him.  
“Hellllooo?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______‘Hello, Leo. I was at the library with Adam, and Laurette was there... for some reason. I think she’s looking for a more academic partner. Anyway, she was telling me about how you was in his car, and... you okay? He nearly made the bus crash this morning, didn’t he?” She questioned._ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou hesitated. He had done that... though LeFou assumed that it had been for a reason. Showing-off was a reason, right?_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m fine... He didn’t mean to, I guess? I don’t know. He’s nice, though.” LeFou felt himself smiling, and rested his head on his arm._ _ _ _ _ _

______‘Nice? Adam told me that he’s nothing short of a show-off. And I’m inclined to believe so, with the car stunt.’_ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou sighed. “I hardly know him. And the same goes for you. You didn’t like Adam when you first met, remember?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He could hear Belle shifting positions; she didn’t like remembering the beginning of her and Adam’s relationship._ _ _ _ _ _

______He was nothing short of beastly. He hardly came to school, and when he did it was so he could attain the barest amount of attendance necessary to continue being a student at Villeneuve Comprehensive. And it wasn’t until Belle’s father, Maurice, and Adam’s own father had a little altercation that the two met properly._ _ _ _ _ _

______Adam wasn’t the nicest of people. But he did like Belle. And besides, Belle was on good terms with Lumiere, who in return was close to Adam. So, with some charming words and a little dinner date set up by the mutual friend, the relationship got better._ _ _ _ _ _

______Belle soon found out that Adam was rather fantastic at English. Not at telling the stories, perhaps... But he could convince even the harshest of critics the meaning of a book through a 5,000 word essay._ _ _ _ _ _

______And Mrs. Potts, Adam’s new parental guardian, had told LeFou once, when he was around at the house that it was ‘a tale as old as time’. He supposed it was._ _ _ _ _ _

______‘Okay. I shouldn’t be casting judgements already. Any plans for tonight?’_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Not much. I’ve made a pie, so I’ll probably just eat that and do homework.” He replied, wincing at just how boring his existence sounded. “What about you?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______‘Me and Papa are going to Mr and Mrs Potts’ house for dinner. Then I’ll probably do homework and talk to Adam.’_ _ _ _ _ _

______“That sounds... fun. Well, I should go and watch Countdown with my Grandma.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______‘Okay. Talk to you tomorrow, Leo!’_ _ _ _ _ _

______The two hung up, and LeFou looked around the kitchen with a look of pure boredom. The stone floor was cold, only ever heated up by the heat that radiated from the oven. Pastel coloured tiles on the wall, some cracked or missing entirely, made the room look a tad brighter._ _ _ _ _ _

______The oven was humming warmly, the smell of fresh pastry wafting through the kitchen and into the living room. LeFou walked into the room, curling up on the sofa. He smiled at his grandmother._ _ _ _ _ _

______“How did you know that I wanted pie?” She asked, smiling._ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou hummed. “I have crazy mind-reading powers. I’m reading your mind right now.” He made his eyes cross as he stared straight on at his grandmother, who made a heavy tutting sound as she played along. “Ah yes... ‘I love my one and only grandson so much, I’m so proud of him’!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well, you aren’t wrong.” She replied, standing up. Her back was bent forwards so much that her body resembled an upside down L shape. She shuffled to her room. “I’m going to nap for an hour.” She said as she disappeared into her room._ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou looked at his phone, idly flicking through photos from his favourite musicals. Homework could wait. He found a good playlist, and began playing it as he continued to lazily surf through his FaceBook homepage._ _ _ _ _ _

______‘What did Jesus do, when they sentenced him to die?’_ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou sang along, finding himself looking at Gaston’s profile image. It was normal to look through friends’ previous images? Right?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Right._ _ _ _ _ _

______Half an hour later, LeFou had found out a few things about his new classmate:_ _ _ _ _ _

___________• Gaston was rich._  
• Gaston had the body of an Adonis.  
• Gaston went hunting.  
• Gaston enjoyed eating meat with strange sauces.  
• Gaston was certainly, definitely straight. 

______LeFou wanted to hit himself at the drop of his heart when he saw the picture of Gaston kissing some redhead. He knew Gaston wasn’t that way inclined. He wasn’t going to find love whilst still at school. He’d have to hope, dream, that when he had the time and the money to go to larger places, he would be able to meet someone._ _ _ _ _ _

______There was nothing wrong in finding Gaston incredibly attractive, anyway. He could indulge slightly._ _ _ _ _ _

______Looking over his shoulder (just in case), LeFou saved a couple of photos of Gaston onto his phone and quickly clicked off his profile. God, he felt like such a creep._ _ _ _ _ _

______He tried to ignore the red blush on cheeks on his way to the kitchen, putting on his pair of green and yellow spotted oven mitts to take the pie out. It smelled and looked delicious!_ _ _ _ _ _

______He admired the golden crust top of the pie, before leaving it on the side to cool down slightly. With a quick glance at the time, 5:37, he went to wake his grandmother up._ _ _ _ _ _

______Her room was dark and bare. He didn’t want to change anything after her husband’s death meaning that the room hadn’t been updated or really cleaned (bar some light dusting) in the last 27 years. LeFou really didn’t want to bring it up, either. It felt almost invasive to bring up a man that he had never met, yet his Grandmother had spent 40 years with. No; his grandfather would remain a ghost within the confines of his grandmother’s room._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Grandma? Wakey, wakey.” He murmured, gently pushing the elderly woman awake._ _ _ _ _ _

______“What?!” She exclaimed, sitting up. “Oh. The pie smells nice.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou helped her to the kitchen, sitting her down in a chair._ _ _ _ _ _

______The two ate in silence, until LeFou’s phone bleeped. He took the device out of his pocket, and halted in swallow the morsel of pie that was sat on his tongue. It was Gaston, with a new message. It read: ‘U go on da bus? 3 skool? Gonna pick you tomoz k gd.’_ _ _ _ _ _

______After deciphering the message, LeFou felt the slowly becoming familiar heat on his cheeks returning. Gaston was going to take him to school? That information felt good to know. It wasn’t just the idea of being in close contact with the other man that made LeFou excited. It was the fact that he wouldn’t have to sit on that disgusting, old, dirty, nasty, dilapidated shit stain on the road his school called transport._ _ _ _ _ _

______He fucking hated that bus._ _ _ _ _ _

______‘That sounds good, thanks a bunch!’ He replied, beaming._ _ _ _ _ _

______Grandma Fousse noticed, and grinned. “Have you got a date?” She asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______“No, no. Just... a lift to school from Gaston.” He replied, looking down._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You should invite that Gaston over one day.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou let out a short laugh. “Let’s just invite the guy I only just met over for milk and cookies. Sure, Grandma. That’ll go down a storm.” He rolled his eyes, but the friendly smile on his lips let her know it was a joke._ _ _ _ _ _

______The two retired into an easy silence once more, fnishing off the last of their meal. Grandma Fousse left to go into the living room, whilst LeFou did the pots, whistling a happy tune as he did so._ _ _ _ _ _

______From the backgrounds he had seen in Gaston’s photos, he didn’t really want Gaston to see the interior of the cottage. Gaston had pools, shiny cars, ensuite bathrooms. LeFou had... a kettle?_ _ _ _ _ _

______A nice personality?_ _ _ _ _ _

______A beating heart?_ _ _ _ _ _

______He felt rather glum as he trailed off into his room after doing the dishes. Feelings were complicated._ _ _ _ _ _

______The short teen allowed his head to hit the thick layer of pillows on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling in heavy thought, his mind wondering to Gaston despite his best intentions not to think of the man._ _ _ _ _ _

______He was ridiculous. He met him that very day. Feelings such as these didn’t just appear; they took time. They had to take time. He wasn’t a self-declared romantic, like Lumiere. Nor was he somebody who was just interested in the physical side of relationships, like Dick._ _ _ _ _ _

______He wasn’t sure what to do about relationships._ _ _ _ _ _

______Perhaps he could ask somebody?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Belle was an obvious first choice... But, well... She wasn’t overly keen on Gaston from the sounds of it. No, no, there would be somebody else he could ask. Adam, maybe?_ _ _ _ _ _

______That could get quite awkward._ _ _ _ _ _

______Tom? No, no... too laidback._ _ _ _ _ _

______Dick? Off the table completely. He didn’t particularly want advice along the lines off ‘show him your ass. He’ll either love it or hate it’._ _ _ _ _ _

______Stanley? Perhaps... no. Stanley was too close to the Bimbettes..._ _ _ _ _ _

______Hang on..._ _ _ _ _ _

______The Bimbettes! They understood love and feleings! LeFou could ask them for help!_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’ll do that!” He exclaimed to himself. Tomorrow he would ask the girls for a private word. Of course, he wouldn’t mention any names, exactly. Just... tell them that there was a guy..._ _ _ _ _ _

______A hot guy. With great hair and biceps to spare and a cool car._ _ _ _ _ _

______And Gaston was nice, too. He was giving him a lift to school! And his laugh was pure... pure ecstasy!_ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou closed his eyes, humming. Everything would be fine._ _ _ _ _ _

______In the words of one of his most favourite characters ever: Tomorrow is a latter day._ _ _ _ _ _

______LeFou would have fallen asleep, content, if he hadn't remembered that he had to start and finish an essay for the next day._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one distracts from homework like Gaston!


	3. A Mother's Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stanley talks us through his morning routine.
> 
> 'Professor' Cogsworth's class get's a little bit steamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll! Thank you for everybody who is reading! You're making my day, my week, my month. Your comments are giving me life and, if you want to supply me with more, I'll gladly take them. Seriously, I've been screenshotting them and showing my S.O. with the biggest grin on my face! Thank you!

Stanley’s morning routine was, essentially, the same no matter what day it was.

He would wake up to Ru Paul’s Cover Girl, putting him in the mood to slay.

He would then run on the treadmill for half an hour, sipping on his lemon water as he ran at a steady pace. After this he would have a shower, careful to shave and moisturise his body with his vanilla scented body cream.

He’d then put on his make up. Urban Decay was his favourite brand, though his sister Sara seemed to believe that it was ‘over-priced and shitty’. It was not. Stanley would be a loyal follower forever. He applied his primer, foundation, concealer, filled in his brows, put on some mascara and smiled at himself in the mirror. He wouldn’t put on a full-face in the week; school wasn’t important enough for him to waste his lip gloss. 

As a footballer, he would wear his jacket. It was an unwritten code amongst the football team; the jackets unite them. But it didn’t stop him from putting on the tightest pair of skinny jeans he could buy and the tightest shirt he owned. He enjoyed looking and feeling good.

For breakfast, he would have half a grapefruit (with sugar) and a glass of orange juice. Along with his breakfast, he’d have casual banter with his siblings and watch cartoons.

He’d then ride his bike to school, listening to music and humming along gleefully. 

However, something was off about this particular day. The sun was shining, breakfast was good, and his phone was charged. Nothing wrong there. What was odd though, was that when he passed the rickety old school bus, he couldn’t see LeFou at all. 

He would always keep an eye out for the small teen, occasionally catching his eye and smiling at him as he sped off past the bus.

But he wasn’t there on that sunny Spring day. He could be ill, Stanley lamented to himself, carrying on pushing forward on the bike. The teen was barely ever off school; he’d ask Belle when he sees her later in the day if LeFou was okay. 

He hoped he was okay.

When he got to school Tom was with Paulette, the two whispering to each other. When Stanley approached, the two jumped apart, wide eyes filled with mischief. He stared at them questioningly, before shrugging and locking his bike into the stand. His two friends went back to whispering, both sharing a rather amused look before properly greeting Stanley with smiles on their faces.

Paulette linked arms with the teen, giggling. “Stanley, go shopping with me tonight?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. “I want to seduce Gaston but all of my clothes are soo boring and plain and-“

“Paulette! We agreed that I could flirt with Gaston first!” Laurette exclaimed, waddling over to the group in a pair of chunky pink heels. It obvious they didn’t fit properly. She leaned on Paulette as she caught her breath. “He’s so handsome~”

“I know!” 

The bus pulled up, with Dick and Claudette walking out... at different times. Something else was obviously off. Stanley raised an eyebrow as Claudette rested her head on his shoulder, not even offering a ‘hello’.

Dick, too, was quieter than normal. He had a red mark on his left cheek, in the shape of a hand. 

“Morning, Claud-y.” Paulette said happily, playing with her friend’s hair. “We were talking about shopping, weren’t we, Stanley?”

Stanley shrugged, still looking at the red mark on Dick’s face. 

The group, minus Paulette, seemed quite somber. Tom put a friendly hand on Dick’s shoulder, a silent question.

“Laurette, Claudette, do you two want to go shopping?” Paulette asked. Laurette nudged her.

“I will, there was talk of Gaston having a party yesterday... right, Tom?”

Yes, Gaston had turned up at the gym last night, much to the dismay of Adam. Stanley didn’t know the details of Adam and Gaston’s little spat in Gym class yesterday, but from the sudden lack of communication between Adam and the others, it obviously had created a tense atmosphere. He was friends with Adam; they both enjoyed health and fitness and shared a couple of classes together.

And Gaston seemed nice enough. He certainly enjoyed bragging, but that wasn’t necessarily a negative thing. What he did speak about was interesting. 

Stanley would just stay out of it. It was between Adam and Gaston to sort out.

Gaston’s car pulled into the car park soon after the group had joined up, swiftly curving into a free parking space. When Gaston got out, he waved at the group, all three of the Bimbettes waving back. Dick seemed to tense up at this, and looked away.

Stanley was debating whether to wave back or not when he saw LeFou get out of the car, face flushed and clearly flustered. The teen felt a twinge in his heart and frowned. LeFou wasn’t ill... though, he was happy about that. He wasn’t happy about how Gaston had his hand on LeFou’s arm, squeezing slightly. He wasn’t happy about how LeFou was blushing. 

“Good morning!” Gaston said happily, leisurely walking towards the group of teens, LeFou seeming to enjoy the feeling of Gaston’s hand on his arm. 

“Good morning, Gaston~” Claudette, Laurette and Paulette exclaimed at the same time, leaving Stanley’s side to fawn over the roughly barge-sized teen. Stanley watched the three of them move away, settling his eyes on LeFou. 

LeFou looked back at him, and smiled, a little shyly as Gaston pulled him closer towards his side.

“Gaston, is it true that you stopped a bank robbery?” Claudette asked, holding onto his sleeve. Dick’s chin clenched as Gaston laughed easily, nodding. 

“I did. Last year. The guy was yelling at some defenceless lady, and never heard me sneaking up behind him.” He said proudly. “I knocked him out cold and tied him up until the police came.”

“WOW!!!” Paulette giggled loudly as the other two thirds of the Bimbettes squealed at the retelling of the teen’s bravery. Even LeFou seemed to be in awe. Stanley hummed, walking away.

Perhaps Adam was right to be cautious about Gaston; why was he holding LeFou like that?

Stanley walked right past Belle, who was stood watching the huddle of people. She didn’t say ‘good morning’ to Stanley, seeing that the football player was in thought. She thought about walking away, before shaking herself out of it.

She had told LeFou that she wasn’t going to judge Gaston. She should stay true to what she had told her best friend. 

She joined the rapidly growing group of teens, giving LeFou a solitary smile before nodding politely at everybody else. 

“Mornin’ Belle!” Tom said, a chorus of ‘good morning’ following.

Gaston stared at Belle, eyes seeming to widen. He stepped forward, closing the space between himself and Belle. “Hello. Allow me to introduce myself, Belle. I’m Gaston Firmin.” He winked at her in what was supposed to be a charming manner.

Belle took a step backwards, looking quite uncomfortable. “Hello, Gaston... I’m Belle Hardy...”

“May I say, Belle... you are simply gorgeous...” He grinned at her, not expecting Belle to laugh. He looked slightly taken aback as his grin turned into a confused frown.

“Gaston, I have a boyfriend...” She told him, before looking at LeFou. “Shall we go to homeroom?” She asked her friend.

LeFou nodded, walking past Gaston. “See you later, Alligator!” He said cheerfully to the taller teen. Gaston’s eyes narrowed, before he let out an over the top laugh. 

“LeFou, my friend! You’re parting from me so soon? Of course, of course, go on with Belle. I’ll see you in English.” He said, winking once more and returning to the willing grasps of the Bimbettes, muttering something about ‘women’ to Tom and Dick.

Belle had to pull the sputtering, red remains of her best friend into school.

 

It was no secret to LeFou that Belle could, if she wanted, convince him to stop hanging around with Gaston. They had only just met, after all, and he cherished his friendship with her far more than some guy. But... Gaston wasn’t some guy. No guy had been so kind to him. No guy that him attention that felt like something other than friendly.

Gaston kept touching him.

His arm, his shoulder, his head. It was overwhelmingly pulse rising. 

But he had hit on Belle.

He was so straight.

He might not actually be straight, though? Bisexual, pansexual, something or other sexual. There were reasons why Gaston would touch him.  
Maybe he was just a touchy guy?

Maybe.

LeFou groaned as he pressed his head against the table, earning a look from Gaston. 

“Were you up late, my friend?” He asked the smaller male.

LeFou thought carefully about his answer. Yes, he was up late, writing an essay about Mormons. It was an awful mess that would probably land him in an enrichment sessions. But LeFou didn’t care; he scribbled it out in an hour and a half, so that he could think about Gaston some more. It wasn’t as if History was something he needed to be a cook. He would just get a job locally after he finished school, earn enough money to renovate the cottage so that it would stand a better feat against time. 

Yes, he could survive through life with nothing but a small job cooking at a local restaurant and some images of a bare chested Gaston. 

Speaking of Gaston...

“Yes, I was up late. I had to write about Joseph Smith.”

“The model?” Gaston asked, smiling in interest. LeFou laughed, shaking his head.

“No, no. The all-American prophet Joseph Smith.” He said, feeling rather good about his reference. Gaston just stared at him blankly. “You know, the Mormon guy?”

“The Mormon guy? Is Mormon a type of cheese?” Gaston asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Is Mormon a type of che- Gaston, Mormons... You... You know what? It doesn’t matter. It might be a type of cheese.” LeFou said, laughing. Gaston laughed, too.

“I know my cheese.”

‘Professor’ Cogsworth stood up, signalling the class to quieten down.

“Now, now, class... has anybody began thinking about what they want to write for the ‘Tale as Old as Time’ writing competition?” He asked, looking around.

Paulette put her hand up. “Professor Clockswort, I do!”

“Excellent, exc- say my name again?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. The rest of the class was also staring at Paulette, who just beamed at everyone in return.

“Clockswort? Lumiere told me you changed it, Sir.” She said, grinning.

Cogsworth sighed. “That stupid, idiotic, dumb- Never mind. What’s your piece of creative writing about, Paulette?” He asked.

Paulette took out what seemed to be a very crumpled receipt from her bra, and unfolded it. ‘Professor’ Cogsworth seemed to regret asking her. She cleared her throat, before smiling at the class.

“Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
Stanley won’t date me  
So why don’t you?”

Her voice was clear and dramatic, and it was obvious that she had thought of herself as being a poet. There was a few seconds of silence, before Claudette and Laurette began to cheer excitedly. The class joined in, though they were significantly less enthusiastic with their clapping praise. Paulette refolded the receipt, and sat back at her desk. She was please that her poem had gone down so well with her classmates!

Cogsworth hummed in thought. “It’s a... start. Well done. Anybody else?” He asked. 

The class was silent.

“Anybody? Ideas of what you’re going to write about?”

Belle put her hand up, and spoke. “I’m writing a short story about two faces.” She said, no smile on her face. For some reason, LeFou felt a slight prick of shame in the centre of his gut. 

“That sounds very interesting, Belle!” ‘Professor’ Cogsworth exclaimed, quite happy. “For the rest of this lesson, I want you to plan your piece of creative writing for the competition.” He told the class.

Claudette raised her hand. “You never told us what the prize is, Sir.” 

“The prize? The first prize is a cash prize of $500 and a certificate. The shortlist winners, as well as the main winner are published into an Anthology series.” Cogsworth explained, the class murmuring excitedly at the prospective of winning so much money. “Yes, exciting, I know... now, please do some work.” He sat down in his seat, yawning.

Gaston turned to LeFou. “This is boring.” He said. LeFou shrugged in response, writing down some ideas for his entry. He could do quite a lot with $500. Buy his grandma a new rocking chair that wouldn’t give her splinters, buy new cook books, buy some black out curtains. The money would be quite helpful, indeed.

He could write about his grandma! Belle once told him that you should only write what you know, and he knew his grandmother very well!

The teen nodded to himself. That’s what he would do! He began to think of ways to describe his grandmother. Kind! Great... what rhymed with kind?

As LeFou rattled his brain for more words, Gaston stared on at Belle, who was writing within a space of deep concentration. She was gorgeous.

And he was willing to play with his prey a little while longer.

After all, LeFou was full compliments and made Gaston actually feel intelligent. He wasn’t going to let an arrangement as nice as that go flying right out of the window. 

He enjoyed the attention.

 

Stanley sat in Maths, staring into space. He normally would be flying through the paper by now, easily working out question after question in his head. He couldn’t explain it to anybody how, but he seemed to be a genius at maths in general. Fractions. Percentages. Algebra. Stanley could do it all.

Not that day, however. Instead, all he could think about was LeFou and Gaston... together? No. Tom had told Stanley about the whole incident with Belle. 

Ouch.

Even if Gaston was straight, Stanley felt weird about him being so friendly to LeFou. Not that handsome, manly guys like Gaston couldn’t be friends with cute, happy guys like Leo Fousse. It was just... well, Gaston seemed dangerous. He didn’t know how or why he got to that conclusion.

It was just there within the dark corners of Gaston’s eyes.

He’d protect LeFou at any cost from the pain the new student could inflict, that much he promised to himself.

He’d even let his maths grade slip, if it meant he could think about ways to protect LeFou.

LeFou was too good to ever be hurt.


	4. In the Theatre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the talent show rehearsal.
> 
> Somebody decides to audition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOP!
> 
> I LOVE YOU ALL, MY BABIES!

Lunch time was something LeFou usually looked forward to. He would get a slice of pizza, with a can of some slickly sweet pop and sit with Belle in the corner of the cafeteria. Sometimes, they would sit with Tom and Stanley, sicne they shared a lunch together. Other times, the two footballers were busy elsewhere, Tom probably sat under some tree and sleeping. Stanley probably trying to order some sort of ultra exclusive lip stick. 

Regardless of what they were doing, the two were quite often absent, meaning that LeFou and Belle were left to their own devices. Generally, Belle would help LeFou with the English homework, and LeFou would recount what happened on the latest episode of one of his many reality TV shows. 

They were LeFou’s guilty pleasure.

However, Belle seemed quiet. She hadn’t said anything to him other than ‘hello’, which made LeFou a little uncomfortable. He knew that being hit on made Belle feel a little bit icky, but usually she would complain about the person who hit on her. Instead, Belle seemed to have retreated into her own thoughts. It worried LeFou slightly; being isolated like that wasn’t right for Belle.

Around ten minutes into the tense silence, LeFou decided to say something.

“Are you okay? Because we’ve been sat here for ages a-“

“No.” Belle said curtly, causing LeFou to look down. She sighed. “Sorry. I... I found out why Dick and Claudette weren’t talking.” She went into a whisper, eyes down. “They were on a date and she kept bringing up Gaston. At first, Dick was okay with it, but she was going on about his muscles and... well, he got uset and told her shut up. They argued and this morning Dick tried to talk to her but she slapped him.” Belle shook her head in disbelief. “All over somebody like Gaston.”

“Now, wait... It’s not Gaston’s fault.” LeFou said, a little to quickly to been seen as just simply defending Gaston. He cringed a little at Belle’s upturned eyebrow. “I mean, finding somebody attractive is something you can’t help, right? Claudette should have known better than to tease Dick like that.”

Belle nervously fiddled with the pages of the book she was reading, thinking. The silence returned for a few moments, before she opened her mouth. “If he’s what you want, Leo, then I won’t stop you.” She said, before picking up her lunch tray.

“Where are you going?” He asked, standing up. Belle turned around. 

“To the library.” And with that, she walked off to her safe haven. LeFou stared after her, before grumbling to himself. He pushed his lunch tray away, and stood up. He wasn’t going to follow Belle; he was going to the theatre. 

Yeah. The theatre. He didn’t need to be sat in the cafeteria alone, talking to nobody.

When LeFou was on his way out, a felt a hand pull him to the side. LeFou would have jumped, but it seemed as if it was becoming a common occurrence as of late. He looked at the owner of the hand, shocked to see-

“Stanley?” He squeaked, looking up at the other teen. “What are you doing?”

Stanley just stared at him for a few seconds, his body keeping LeFou pressed against the wall. LeFou stared back, confusion evident in his expression. Why where people being so weird recently?

Stanley then smiled, taking a step back. He gave LeFou a note before walking back off to where Paulette was waiting for him. Paulette waved at LeFou cheerfully before dragging the reddening Stanley away.

The note was folded neatly, LeFou’s real name written with a purple glitter pen in block capitals. LeFou opened the note hastily, confused but intrigued. He read it, enjoying Stanley’s cursive writing.

‘Leo. Go out with me on Saturday to the movies?’

Underneath the question were three boxes, each with responses. One was ‘yes’, the middle one ‘I’ll think about it’ and the last one was ’no’, each decorated with a smiley face, a neutral face and sad face respectively.

LeFou smiled. It was cool that Stanley wanted to hang out! He took out a green biro, marking the ‘yes’ with another smiley face and putting the piece of paper in his jean pocket. He’d would give to Stanley in the theatre, when it would be rehearsals for the Summer talent show.

LeFou considered how lucky he was, to have a school that seemed to value both Sports and Performing Arts. He remembered how great it would feel, always having something to work towards in drama. And LeFou loved to perform, almost as much as he loved to cook. He would love to spend his days cooking and singing, perhaps even at the same time? 

He could be a singing chef!

LeFou continued his way to the theatre, humming happily. He enjoyed spending time with Stanley, it would be nice for it to be just the two of them for a change. What would they watch?

Once LeFou made it to the theatre, he sat down and took out his phone. By habit, LeFou switched his phone off during lesson. He hated the constant fear in his mind that his phone would go off in the middle of class. Everybody would stare at him, judging him for his theme tune. They would laugh, the teacher (‘Professor’ Cogsworth, knowing his luck) would give him detention for his ring tone being so vulgar. He’d be humiliated. Why didn’t he just change his ring tone?

Hasa Diga Ebowai was far too catchy a ring tone for it to be changed. 

Madame Garderobe came out from the left wing, dropping a pile of bright fabrics onto the stage. She began sorting through them, singing some sort of Italian Opera. 

LeFou never got into Opera. Unless they involved Phantoms. He didn’t mind listening to Madame Garderobe, though; her voice was beautiful, anybody would agree.

LeFou watched her rifling through the large pile of fabrics, before deciding to help her. He walked up onto the stage, kneeling down.

Garderobe smiled at him. “Ah, my little student-a~” She greeted LeFou happily. “Wonderful, wonderful! You can help me with more jobs!”

LeFou nodded. “Sure, Madame Garderobe.” He replied. 

“Soo~ Rehearsal tonight, Leonardo! Are you excited?” She questioned, throwing several loose feathers in LeFou’s direction. He managed to avoid the multi-coloured assault, scooping the feathers up and putting them into a pile on a far corner of the stage. “Ah, I love watching the students perform! Bellissima, you’re all so good!”

LeFou nodded, grinning. “I can’t wait for it, Madame Garderobe.”

“Good, good!” She then ran backstage, coming back a few seconds later with a bag of clothes hangers. “What lesson do you have next, Leonardo?” She asked, beginning to hang the clothes.

LeFou began to help, sighing. “I have a study period with Belle... but, uh, I don’t think she’ll be there. She... I don’t know, doesn’t feel too well.” 

“Awww, Belle is a charming lady, I hope she feels well soon.” Garderobe said, smiling. “You can stay here, Leonardo, if you would like to?” She suggested. “The talent show is more important than silly old science, afterall~”

LeFou thought for a few moments, before nodding. “Sure, I’ll stay here and help.” He said, nodding.

“Excellent! I’ll get us some orange juice!” She waltzed off, leaving LeFou by himself.

The small teen worked happily as he put the clothes onto hangers, humming happily. He wasn’t excited at the aspect of spending the next hour hangng clothes but... Belle didn’t seem like she wanted to talk. And LeFou would respect that, even though he felt as if it wasn’t his fault; Belle didn’t dictate his crushes, and he wasn’t going to apologise for finding Gaston attractive. Handsome. 

Perfect.

The only thing that would make Gaston even better would be if he could sing.

LeFou felt his heart beater faster at the thought of being serenaded. By Gaston? No, no... Romance n general made him go weak at the knees.

Madame Garderobe returned, passing LeFou a glass of orange juice. “Drink, drink!” She exclaimed sitting down and beginning to sing again.

LeFou smiled. At least he could relax for an hour with one of his favourite teachers. 

 

“S-Something has cha-changed with, um, within me... something is... not the same? NO! STOP!” Claudette cried into the microphone, stomping her foot on the stage. 

Dick stopped the slightly off-key instrumental version of Defying Gravity, sighing. “C’mon, already!” He yelled, rewinding it and starting from the beginning. 

Laurette whooped at her in praise, wanting her to do well. Paulette looked up, giving Claudette a thumbs up before going back to tuning her pink guitar. She stroked the unicorn sticker for good luck, whispering something to it.

The opening notes played, and everyone grinned at Claudette supportively (bar Dick, who was staring at the sound equipment). Claudette release a nervous breath of air, shaking her head. She could do this. 

She had been practising every day. She could do it!

_“Something has changed within me! Something not the same!” ___

__LeFou walked into the theatre, beng as quiet as possible. He smiled at Claudette, before looking around for Stanley. He needed to give him the note. He noticed Belle staring at him, and gave her a testing smile. Belle seemed to falter slightly, before smiling back, just slightly._ _

__He was late to the rehearsal. Only by ffteen minutes but... well, Gaston liked to chat. And, honestly, LeFou liked to listen. If a career in football didn’t work out, Gaston could be a storyteller. Anyway, he was late, but he knew that the group generally took ten minutes to calm down. He wouldn’t have missed much._ _

___‘I think I’ll try defying gravity~’ ____ _

____LeFou sat next to Stanley passing him the note. The taller teen looked at it for a couple of seconds, before opening it up and reading the contents. LeFou felt a little pull in his heart when Stanley’s face broke out into a huge smile. He grinned at LeFou, pumping the air._ _ _ _

____LeFou smiled, copying him. The two shared a smile as LeFou got comfy._ _ _ _

_____‘My future is unlimited’ ____ _ _ _

______Belle looked at the two, nudging Adam. “I hope LeFou’s realising what’s right in front of him.” She whispered._ _ _ _ _ _

______Adam looked over, raising an eyebrow. “Stanley is miles above Gaston.” He replied. Belle nodding, and the two shared a kiss before gong back to paying attention to Claudette._ _ _ _ _ _

_______‘And nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______Is ever gonna bring me-‘ ____ _ _ _ _ _

________The door slammed open, causing the track to start skipping and then stop completely. Claudette looked ready to blow her top off, before looking at who it was._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Gaston._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He waved at everyone, nodding his head at LeFou. Claudette waved at him, giggling, as the other two Bimbettes began whispering to one another._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“So, I want to sing in the talent show.” He said coolly to everyone in the room. Belle rolled her eyes, and turned away, so she wasn’t looking at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick grinned at him. “Sure, man, sure!” He exclaimed. “Do you have a song in mind?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Why yes, I do.” He said, passing Dick his phone. “Just connect it to the speaker and press play, would you?” Gaston told the other teen, before walking down the stalls so that he could grin at everyone in the room, standing in the centre of the stage, pushing Claudette out of the way with his shoulder._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The girl, rather than reacting in a way that would be seen as usual for her, just giggled again, getting off the stage and sitting with the other two thirds of her life._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Stanley tensed a little when he saw LeFou shift, leaning forward. He was doing so well, but this Gaston guy kept fucking things up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The music started, and Belle was hoping, silently, that he would be awful._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________‘I saw the light on the night that I passed by her window_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________I saw the flickering shadow of love on her blind_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________She was my woman_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________As she deceived me I watched and went out of my mind’ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________LeFou gasped when Gaston began to sing. He knew the song... the song... that’s what his Grandmother would sing when he was younger._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Whoop!!!” LeFou yelled, standing up and clapping._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The three Bimbettes joined in, clapping along... sort of. Laurette managed to be in time, at least._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Gaston winked at LeFou, taking the microphone off the stand and swaying to the music._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________'My my my Delilah_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Why why why Delilah’ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Tom turned to Stanley, a dopey smile on his face. “He’s great isn’t he, St- Oh, what’s up?” He asked when he was met with a tight-lipped, narrowed eyed glare. Then, he looked past Stanley, and saw LeFou, who was clapping and waving along wildly. “Ah... well, man, sorry ‘bout that. You still have that date on Saturday, though. Woo him.” Tom winked as he walked over to Laurette, kissing her cheek and clapping along with her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________‘Forgive me Delilah I just couldn't take any moooooore’ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Gaston hit the last note, holding it on proudly past the end of the song. He grinned as he was met with thunderous applause, and he put the mic back it place. “Thank you. I know, I was amazing!” He winked again at LeFou, getting off the stage._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________LeFou ran up to him, grinning. “That was great! You were great! Just.. just great!” He exclaimed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Gaston nodded. “I know, LeFou. Let’s go.” He said, beginning to walk out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Wait... I haven’t rehearsed yet, Gaston.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“You don’t have to. Let’s go.” He said, grabbing LeFou’s arm. LeFou looked around, mouthing ‘sorry’ to a fuming Belle. He then drifted to Stanley, who was staring at him in annoyance. But, Gaston was tugging impatiently, and Gaston was... fantastic._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________LeFou allowed himself to be dragged out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________From across the room, Belle and Stanley shared a look. The two off them got up, following behind the other two teens. Belle watched as Gaston never let go of LeFou’s wrist, even though his strides were too fast for the shorter person. Stanley watched as LeFou allowed himself to be dragged away, put into Gaston’s car._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Stanley... we need to do something.” She said. “Before things go too far.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Stanley nodded in agreement._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________They were going to be better safe than sorry._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs mentioned in the story are:
> 
> Defying Gravity from Wicked
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g4ekwTd6Ig
> 
> and
> 
> Delilah by Tom Jones
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOkWV9POcs
> 
>  
> 
> YES LUKE EVANS SANG IT AHHHH


	5. The Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaston takes LeFou somewhere exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm at school again, so updates will be slightly less. I'm sorry.

Gaston didn’t drive LeFou home. 

Instead, he drove the opposite way, towards the centre of Villeneuve. LeFou wondered, briefly, if he should speak up. Taking him out of rehearsal early was one thing; not taking him home was another. He opened up his mouth to speak, ask Gaston what he was up to.

But when he saw the easy, satisfied grin plastered onto the other teen’s face, something inside LeFou felt... proud? Happy? He wasn’t sure. Either way, he felt responsible for the handsome expression in front of him. He hadn’t ever seen somebody smile like that; bright and natural and perfect. LeFou noted the fang-like teeth the other had. They looked dangerous.

It suited him.

Gaston noticed LeFou’s gaze, and winked at him. “Wondering where I’m taking you?” He asked, a hint of teasing his voice.

LeFou blushed, averting his stare and looking instead at the rows of houses that flew past as the car sped along. He began to feel a little motion sick, deciding to look back at Gaston, who winked at him again.

“Gaston, please tell me where we’re going?” He asked.

“A place I found last night with my dad.” Gaston returned, raising an eyebrow at LeFou. “It’s a great place... good women.” 

LeFou snorted. “Gaston, women aren’t exactly my-“

“Nonsense! You need to get out there, LeFou. It’s not good for you, being strictly platonic with the girls at our school.” Gaston slapped him on his arm. LeFou sighed, shaking his head.

“Whatever you say, Gaston.” He replied in a small voice, uncaring if the other man heard or not. 

The car pulled up into the car park of a rather... rough looking establishment. Bar.

Motorbikes and convertible cars were parked haphazardly, creating an almost maze-like pathway to the entrance of the bar. There was a dull green ‘OPEN’ sign, fading from the puke green haze into darkness and back again, as if it was retreating from the phrase it carried. LeFou gulped as he looked at the top heavy men that congregated outside the bar, cigarette smoke rising higher with every puff. 

There front window was dirty with mud, fingerprints and something that looked far too similar to dried up blood for LeFou to feel comfortable.

“Come on now, LeFou.” Gaston ordered with a smile. LeFou shook a little, nodding.

The two walked to the entrance, the men at the front eyeing LeFou in... confusion? He didn’t know. The overwhelming smell of whisky made the short teen sway a little, nostrils flaring from the sudden attack. Old and musky... He didn’t like it. It made him feel queasy and-

“Gaston, my boy! Took you a while!” 

LeFou heard the yell come from the far corner of the room. Both LeFou and Gaston turned around, to look at the owner of the yell.

“Father, hello!” 

Gaston marched forwards, sitting next to... an older version of Gaston? It must have been!

LeFou tilted his head to the side as he took in the similarities between the two generations of family. Both were tall and broad and seemed to look at everything with a familiar expression; amusement and disdain. This man, though, didn’t have the low pony tail that Gaston did, and was going grey at the sides. Certainly, Gaston was clean-shaven whereas older-Gaston had a rich, even patch of stubble, a mix of black and grey hair that gave the older man an attractive air of maturity. 

“Who’s the kid, Gaston?” Older Gaston said, pointing in LeFou’s direction. LeFou turned around, expecting to see a small child.

“That’s my friend, LeFou.” 

Oh. He was the kid.

“Oh, a friend? Then sit, what’s your name? LeFou?” The older man gave out a barking laugh, his son seeming to copy it. “The fool! Haha, fantastic!”

LeFou tried to swallow the aching swirl of shame that began to race in his gut, walking forward at sitting next to Gaston. “It’s, um, a-actually Leo Fousse.” He said, hating the soft tremble his voice seemed to lead with. He could be confident, Gaston was his friend. If Gaston was his friend, then he was good enough to feel confident now and again. 

“Leo Fousse, eh?” Older Gaston looked at the teen for a few seconds. “Any friend of Gaston’s is a friend of mine, if you’ll pardon the cliché of that line.” He winked in a friendly way, before knocking back some dark liquid with barely a grimace. He then looked at his son, humming. “What do you want to drink, my boy? You too, Leo Fousse.”

LeFou thought about the question. He didn’t want to cost much, and branded drinks were so expensive. Orange juice? Yes! He’d have an orange juice!

Just as LeFou was about to open his mouth, Gaston put words into his mouth.

“Two pints of the best beer in this place.” Gaston said, clapping LeFou on the shoulder. LeFou look startled, suddenly, shaking his head.

“No, no... I don’t dri-“

“Coming right up!” Older Gaston replied, getting up with a vigour that LeFou thought would have been reserved for nothing more than a house being on fire if it were anybody else. Gaston (the younger one, the actual Gaston) tapped his friend’s shoulder.

“Leo? That’s your real name?” He asked, surprised.

LeFou laughed. “Well, it was hardly going to be LeFou, was it?”

“I don’t know.” Gaston replied, shrugging the conversation topic away. LeFou tried to ignore the fact that Gaston was content to believe that LeFou was his real name. “Did you like my song?”

“Oh, yes! I mean... My Grandma loves anything by Tom Jones. So... y-yeah. Um-“

“You were cheering me the loudest out of anyone else.” Gaston gave LeFou a pointed look, cocking his head to the side in what the smaller man would have thought was, maybe, flirtatious? 

“Well, uh, we you fantastic...” Gaston moved closer. “Truly, Gaston.” 

“I’m glad you feel that way, LeFou. You see,” Gaston let out a dramatic sigh “I have spent many, many, many years hiding my singing talents. At my old school, it was not something that I could show off, since the a Capella group was, how would you say? Terrible. Now, I can do great things, but one thing I can’t do is make a group of talentless freaks sound good.

“So I figured, after seeing how respected the drama group seems to be, that I’d join. Though, how is the competition working if you’re all friends? You can’t crush the competition completely if you have... feelings, and such, for them?”

LeFou listened to Gaston, taken in by the rich, charming tone of his voice. He almost forgot that Gaston had asked him a question, until he saw the waiting gleam in the taller man’s eye. “Oh, oh... Um, well, we don’t really ‘crush’ people. It’s just some fun. And we get local people to judge, so it’s fair.” LeFou thought for a few moments. “Mr. Kush, the ice cream man guy, Jean Potts, and um... somebody else that I don’t remember the name-“

“Hmph. What will I win?” Gaston interrupted, scooping some dirt out of his nails. 

“Wha- oh, the winner gets like, some money. Second place gets a free meal for two. Personally, I want that. Me and Grandma like to go out sometimes for a meal, but it can be pricey.” 

Gaston nodded, seeming to be listening. “So, it’s just money. Shame, I wanted something more exciting for my win. But anyway, I hope you get second place, my friend.” He flashed him a tummy-tugging grin, in which LeFou could have sworn he saw himself reflected in the teeth of the taller teen. 

“Thanks, Gaston. I’m sure you’ll do fantastic.” He said positively, just in time for older Gaston (daddy Gaston sounded to weird for LeFou to even consider calling him that) to return with two tall glasses with a thick amber coloured liquid sloshing around the sides, leaving the foam top dribbling over the sides. 

“Here you go boys, drinks up!” He said, winking at LeFou. 

“Th-thanks, Gaston’s dad.” LeFou said, jumping at the dull thud that older Gaston made as he slammed his beer down. 

“Call me Dr. Firmin.” 

“Okay, s- wait, you’re a doctor?” LeFou exclaimed. He drank in the older man’s appearance once more. Greying hair, stubble. Nice suit. Expensive shoes (Italian? LeFou knew that expensive shoes were probably Italian). It was obvious even before LeFou met Gaston’s dad, Dr. Firmin, that the family was well-to-do. Yet, for some reason unknown to the smaller teen, he thought that there had to be some sort of... more ruthless aspect to their wealth. 

Ah, well. It wasn’t a bad thing to be wrong. Doctors were good people.

“My dad is the best plastic surgeon you’ll meet.” Gaston said. Oh.

Not that plastic surgery was a bad thing. If somebody wanted to change something about their body, they should be allowed to, that was LeFou’s opinion on the matter.

“I won’t rest until every woman in Villeneuve are in the double D’s, at least!”

Oh.

“Oh.” LeFou hummed. “Breasts aren’t really-“

“Come on, Leo! Drink up!” Dr. Firmin pushed the pint glass towards LeFou watching him with narrowed eyes. LeFou picked up the offending glass, taking a minute sip the thick white froth that had began to dissolve into the dark liquid below. He shuddered at the bitter taste, putting the glass down quickly. 

“I’ll drink it on the sly, LeFou.” Gaston whispered in his ear, making LeFou shudder once again from the proximity of the other man. LeFou stared up at him, the corners of his mouth curving up in thanks.

“So, Leo Fousse, how’s my son doing in school? Not up to any mischief, I hope.” Dr. Firmin questioned, the all-too-familiar amused upward quirk fixed into his left brow. LeFou smiled, shaking his head. 

“He’s fantastic, Dr. Firmin, Sir.” He said politely. Gaston grinned. 

“I have LeFou show me the way, fortunately. I don’t think I would have felt so comfortable if it wasn’t for him.” 

“Well, that’s good to know!” Dr. Firmin’s phone went off, as if on cue, and the man gave a quick glance to it before nodding. “I’ll be back soon, I must answer this at once.” He quickly went outside, out of sight of LeFou. He noticed a sudden clench to Gaston’s upper chin. 

“LeFou, what do you want to drink?” He asked. LeFou shrugged. 

“Coke.”

“No, no... I mean, you obviously don’t drink beer. Something fruity?” Gaston questioned.

“Oh! Orange juice!” LeFou exclaimed, thankful that Gaston was listening to him. The taller teen winked and stood up, going to the bar. LeFou watched the other walk off, shaking his head a little.

The situation was... bizarre. Yes. Bizarre, certainly. He had hoped that, after rehearsal, he would be able to go home and cook something tasty before chilling out. Instead, he was in a shady bar with a hulk of a man and his father. What would his Grandmo-

His grandmother!

“Shit!” LeFou pulled out his phone, quickly calling the cottage house phone. After four sharp rings, his grandmother answered. 

‘I’m not buying your new vacuum cleaner, sod off!’

“Grandma, it’s me!” LeFou said, tapping his foot on the dusty floor. “I’m a little busy... are you gonna be okay by yourself?” He asked.

‘Leo, I’m not a damned cripple. I can make myself some damn food. You have fun now!’ She then hung up.

LeFou sighed; he didn’t think that he was such a buzzkill, really. He just worried about his grandma. She was such a strong character, even though he knew that she sometimes cried at night, shallow breathes carrying through the decaying cottage like a phantom whistling in forlorn. He wouldn’t ever ask about it. It would make her feel ashamed. And LeFou didn’t ever want her to feel like that.

Shame was something he wasn’t going to force upon her.

He wasn’t a douchebag.

“Here.” Gaston said, passing LeFou a tall glass of orange juice. It even had a tiny umbrella! He took the umbrella out, putting it behind his ear and gave Gaston a toothy grin. Gaston seemed to falter for just a moment, before grinning back with a fierce confidence. “You’re a riot, LeFou.” The older teen said, sitting down, and casually putting an arm across LeFou’s shoulders. He could feel the muscles ripple, the thick biceps tensing and then releasing the tension. It was in time to Gaston’s breathing. LeFou felt his throat go dry at the thought of Gaston’s breath elsewhere.

“Wow, um...” He downed his orange juice, coughing as he took in too much too fast. “F-fudge!” He wheezed out, face flushing. Gaston slapped him on the back.

“You could win any drinking game, huh?” He said, laughing. LeFou giggled, nodding. 

“Hey, that orange tasted good! Thanks!” 

“I’ll get you another one in a couple of minutes, good friend.” Gaston winked at him. LeFou hummed happily, once again feeling his stomach flip in... love? Attraction? It probably was the latter of the two; LeFou never really believed in love at first sight, and two days was NOT long enough to feel anymore than the beginnings of friendship towards.

Naturally, that didn’t stop Gaston from being the most attractive man LeFou had ever set his young, inexperienced eyes one. Of course, Adam was good looking. So was Stanley. But... Gaston seemed to be so alluring. The winks, the smiles. The everything. Everything was thicker, taller, stronger, more confident.

A small, inconsequential part of LeFou’s brain was telling him that he was jealous of Gaston. Maybe he’d have a better chance of getting a boyfriend if he had those biceps, or that winning grin? 

Yet, at the same time, LeFou couldn’t imagine himself being anything other than himself. Small and soft. Quiet and kind. Why would he want to be anyone else?

If he were Gaston, he couldn’t appreciate the other man fully. Being LeFou was perfect.

“Hey, Gaston?” LeFou taped the taller teen on the shoulder. “I think that, well, you’re a neat guy. I’m glad you’ve come to Villeneuve.” He said earnestly.

Gaston’s grin seemed to widen tenfold. “Come now, LeFou. You’re so kind in your words. Though, I suppose that life must hav ebeen pretty dull before I began giving you lifts in my cars... how about that drink?” He asked, standing up.

LeFou gave him a thumbs up.

 

After three hours of drinking the ‘orange juice’ LeFou was certain of three things:  
1) The ‘orange juice’ was vodka. Strong vodka  
2) He was drunk  
3) Gaston was sexy and fun to touch.

The third realisation meant that LeFou had become little more than a growth on Gaston’s arm. He cuddled into it lovingly, nuzzling the strong appendage much like how a child would hug a teddy bear. 

Dr. Firmin was laughing loudly at the teen’s behaviour. “Gaston, the boy had never drank before!” He exclaimed, sniggering. 

“I know, but at least I can take him home. In fact, maybe I should...” 

LeFou grunted as he was lifted up onto Gaston’s shoulder. He let out a giggle, petting his behind. Gaston laughed, saying something to Dr. Firmin before leaving.

“Hey, Gaston? I’m really sorry about, like, um, Adam and stuff. I-I think you’re cool! Really cool! And handsome, and strong!” He sighed. “No one’s strong like Gaston! Handsome like Gaston! Wow, Gaston, you’re great!” 

“Hm, LeFou, you’re quite a useful guy.” Gaston said loudly, putting the shorter man down so that he could fish out his keys. “I hate people who don’t know their place in life. I mean, there are men like me, who are the best of the best. There are men like you, friends of the best of the best. Then there are those who are just stepping stone to the top. And then we throw some women into the mix.” He winked at the swaying LeFou.

“Well, I mean, I don’t really like women.” LeFou said. “I like men, and um... strong men? Handsome men, for sure! Like you?”

“What?” 

“Strong, handsome men, Gaaastooon!” He exclaimed. 

“Oh? So...” Gaston leaned into LeFou’s ear, letting out a gentle laugh. “So, I’m your type?” He whispered.

LeFou gasped slightly. “Y-yeah!” He squeaked, feeling his knees go weak. “J-just my type, Gaston.”

“Hmm... then, Leo. I’ll bear that in mind.” He opened the car, helping the shorter teen in. 

LeFou giggled to himself as he watched Gaston enter the driver’s seat. “I’ll be in your mind?” He asked.

Gaston nodded. “Yes, Leo. Now, why don’t you nap. We’re about half an hour away from your home.” He said.

LeFou didn’t need to be told twice, as he fell asleep in the car.

Gaston was going to be thinking about him!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


End file.
